Chronic Pain, the CDC, Doctors and the "view" that seems to be blurred by being much too "one-sided"....

 I still will always believe that the CDC and others are presenting this "abuse" and Overdose situation FAR MORE ridiculous as it really is. Those that are going to ABUSE these medications, are going to get them, whether through doctors or any other way they can... it is just the nature of the abuse situation, whether it be legal meds, or illegal drugs... I also know that I totally understand being "cautious" and doctors needing to educate patients, and keep a close eye on them, when they are on strong pain medications. Those patients and their families need to know and understand what to look for as far as an overdose, or what to look for when that patient is NOT getting ENOUGH medication... because not getting "enough" out of pain, is just as bad as overdosing... you remain NOT able to function if your pain level is too high. 

And "NO" NO type of pain treatment will ever remove ALL of the pain in chronic pain illnesses, BUT it will do what it is designed for if you use it properly and that is get the pain to a "tolerable" level, where you can function most of the time pretty well. When my pain level is so bad, that I am literally sitting in my floor crying and screaming and just wanting the pain to end, then for some reason something is wrong. Either my meds are not working correctly, I need a dose adjustment, or possibly I have a new illness or something such as a new ruptured disc in my neck or back, or new nerve pain etc... and if I go to the proper physician which I always do, they can either send me for treatment or surgery, and/or adjust my medications to once again get me to a place I can tolerate that pain. 

There is always SO MUCH BAD PUBLICITY when it comes to OVERDOSES, kids getting hold of medications, "quack doctors" who prescribe whatever just to make money, and so on... BUT HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU SEE THE NEWS STORIES ABOUT HOW GREAT A LIFE IS ONCE SOMEONE IS ON PROPER TREATMENTS FROM CHRONIC PAIN AND HOW MUCH BETTER THEY ARE ABLE TO COPE AND HAVE A SOMEWHAT NORMAL LIFE???? RARELY! Our society as a whole has become so ENGROSSED IN THE BAD STUFF IN THE NEWS, THAT the GOOD things are never printed, talked about, or put up for public awareness... thus the public has no idea HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE TRULY AND GENUINELY HELPED BY THEIR PAIN MEDS... That is the issue, WE WATCH ABOUT WAR, AND TERRORISM, AND MASS MURDERS, AND ALL OF TRUMPS CRAP, AND THRIVE ON BULL, DISGRACE, AND the MORBID THINGS in this world, 

YET NOT LOOK OR EVEN HEAR OF THE THINGS THAT ARE MAKING A TRUE DIFFERENCE... the truly dedicated professionals who DO GOOD, and are GREAT PAIN DOCTORS, AND they DO treat their patients in all ways to help them... and if that means opioid pain medications then they do those, but they also monitor that patient... I take urine tests, go into the office usually at least every 3 months, depending on when the pain pump needs to be refilled, and I "abide" by the guidelines that my doctors ALL give me... I also let ALL OF MY DOCTORS, know exactly what medications I take, who prescribes them and why, and make sure every physician is on the "same page".... and I know many patients that also follow those rules, yet of course there are those that do not... but those patients are not as "prominent" as the patients like myself that "do the correct thing" and make sure they lock their medications up, they keep their doses where the doctors tell them, they do NOT run out of medications early, they keep up the time and dosage of their meds, they research themselves how each medication can effect another... for instance I did not know why I was not really supposed to drink "Grapefruit juice" and I love it... and I still eat a half a grapefruit here and there, but that is different than drinking the juice... because that juice can either cause some medications to be "stronger" or "weaker" in the body, due to the chemical makeup of the medications along with the acid and other things you get in the juice....

I FEEL ALSO ALL PATIENTS NEED TO EDUCATE THEMSELVES about ALL MEDS, INCLUDING pain meds.... OUR DOCTORS ARE OVERWHELMED AND STRESSED ALSO, so even though they SHOULD MAKE SURE WE KNOW CERTAIN THINGS, at times something may slip through the crack, and they forget or don't know to tell you... and even with our pharmacists, they usually point out certain things, but even they are overworked and overloaded with getting scripts ready for thousands of patients.... and with the internet at almost everyone's tip of their fingers, WE, should take responsibility to look up information, do research and also ALWAYS TAKE A LIST OF QUESTIONS TO YOUR DOCTORS VISITS! I NEVER go TO THE DOCTOR WITHOUT A LIST, some either new symptoms, questions, and so forth... because without that "yellow" padded piece of paper, as soon as my physician walks in that door, I would forget half of what I intended to ask him... so we have to also TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for our own bodies, listen to them, and believe me, I WILL ARGUE WITH A DOCTOR, if I FEEL something is "not right"... and more often than not I AM RIGHT! So, even if they get upset with you STAY WITH YOUR GUT FEELINGS until you are satisfied with the answers your physicians give you... a prime example is my pain pump.....

I HAVE KNOWN IT IS NOT SET CORRECTLY... I have had too much pain that should not be there since the new pump was put in, and I knew I would have to be bumped up a couple of times, but when I went in this last time, whatever happened something is very wrong. I am NOT getting nearly the proper amount of medication as I was with the first pump, and I know by how I feel, and what my PTM tells me, and even what my doctor told me in the office, my medications are not at the proper level. So, I am having issues with pain, and other things due to that pump not set correctly. I go in on Tuesday, and I intend on getting it upped properly, AND FROM NOW ON A PRINTOUT, of ALL OF THE SETTINGS! They used to give me a printout, so I could know exactly how it was set, when, what doses, etc... but they got a bit lax in giving them to me, and I got lax in asking for them... well I will walk out with a printout this time, and from now on... because that printout had helped on at least 3 occasions to "get my pump correctly set".... so it is imperative I come home with that information from now on.... 

I am sorry for the LONG post, but this is such an important issue for me and so many others, we must stand arm in arm, side by side, and make sure we the PATIENTS get the PROPER treatments we need in order to have a better quality of life...A great example is that due to my pump not being set right, and I have not had the cervical neck surgery yet, I cannot set and type very long... and rec ently my Mom began to have all types of pain with her lumbar spine, and she has several problems there that at 82 years old, and her other health issues, they really do not want to even discuss surgery... it make only makes things worse... so she is now on pain medications... at first we had her on NSAIDS but her kidney functions went haywire so she can no longer take ANY type of NSAIDS... so my pain doctor put her on a small dose of a pain medication and she had injections a few months back... well the pain is so bad now, she won't even get out of bed until noon many days... and she now understands what I go through... yet she is not able to "push" through the pain yet, because her medication needs to be either adjusted or changed to something a bit stronger... so her quality of life is nothing right now and quite frankly I fear if we don't get it more under control, she will just give up and throw in the towel.... so something has to be done to make her feel better and have less pain.....

May The True Meaning of Easter Bring Faith, Hope, and a Renewed Spirit to you in Celebration of that Stone Rolled Away.....

As we reflect on the true meaning of Easter Sunday, and all of the hope, faith and trust it represents to those who believe, I bid you love, peace within and without, and the joy that the "stone" was rolled away in 3 days. Our very reason for this blessed celebration. We too have our own "stone's that shall be rolled away" and we have that gift of being set free one fine day from all of the pain, hurt, conflict, and what our "human kind" brings... and shall be in a new and glorious body, and where as "Our Father" promised will walk on the streets of gold, and share everything good in that land far away. May you find all of that peace and comfort this Easter Weekend, and walk in a new light knowing in your heart that you too will be set free from our hurt, pain and suffering...

Our world has become such a place of horror, too judgemental, too oppressed again, too full of hate, of cruelty, with lack of respect for any "life". We have so many that lack any type of morality when it comes to the very sanctity of what human life means. Our world has become a place that many of us feel terror, rather than feel freedom to be and do what we feel our lives are here for.... Even though we try and walk in the light knowing none of what here will matter someday, it is difficult NOT to be frightened each day of what some of these hate mongers may do....  

#meaningofEaster  

#stonerolledaway

#Dad2005

So, with hope and a place of peace inside I wish you an Easter filled with all things good... Rhia  

By the way my other thought for tomorrow....

Easter Sunday 2005, was the day my Dad passed away. This is a photo of some of my family at the cemetery. I felt this was an appropriate time to share this once again. Oddly enough, that particular Easter also fell on March 27th, 2005. Miss you and Love you Dad! I know that You and all of the family, along with Tazzy, friends and others await there with open arms for all of us. As much as I wished you were still here, honestly, you are in such a better place. I am thankful that you are not suffering, and  you are not suffering, nor having to witness all of the horrid things of this Earth now.... Love you, "Pammy"

 

 

Deciphering "Alzheimer's", all types of "Dementia", which includes even Parkinson's, and many more...

Deciphering "Alzheimer's", all types of "Dementia", which includes even Parkinson's, and many more... A cry out for answers, as I wade through this monumental amount of research and searching I am doing!!!

 

 

 

I also would like for anyone that has dealt with a loved one, or someone close to you who would know about a "fast type of dementia" or Alzheimer's and so forth. This situation has went from mild "memory" issues, and forgetfulness, to telling certain "stories" I felt may not be entirely true. That was about 2 to 3 years ago... as I watched I began to see worse issues, could not keep up paying bills, making doctors appts, and many other things that were "off"... Then about 6 months ago, it went nuts....

 

 We went to losing 2 different credit cards THREE TIMES within a WEEK, not "recalling" how to put a car in "drive" or reverse, not able to turn on and use an oven that has been there and fine now for 12 or more years, either taking TOO MUCH medication, or like last week DID NOT TAKE ANY MEDICATIONS, stays in the bed till noon now, has not watched a television in 6 months and used to watch daily. 

 

Not eating anything healthy, just junk basically, cannot even make out a check correctly, fill in paperwork of any kind at all by herself, losing things, cannot remember after being told 7 times within an hour what the "day" was, which was Tuesday, plus that information is ALWAYS ON A CLOCK, WITH THE TIME, DATE, DAY OF THE WEEK, MONTH and even temperature on it. Never realized it was "time to change the clocks", suddenly cannot "dial my or no one's phone number correctly, most of the time), now is complaining and has been lately, of not just having issues with going "Number 2" toilet wise" but is "obsessed" with "toilet habits, and I "think" I am came to understand now, sometimes just does not know they need to "go", so there are now "accidents"..not going to the restroom when they should, cannot recall "talking to me" later on the same day she called me, and not recalling what she even said. Has no clue most of the time about naming "objects" or rooms, etc... at least 85% of the time... not recalling even the month it is... these are but a "few" of the many, many things I've seen over the past about 4 to 5 months with my Mom. And it leaves me with "all kinds of issues" that I have to get her to talk about BEFORE things are too bad and her memory is so much worse...

 

 I almost think I can add "hallucinating" maybe at times...I know a doctor told me that sometimes when someone has one of these illnesses, and they "forget", they just kind of "make up

" and fill in the gaps with something that can remember... so it will make sense to them and everyone else or is supposed to.... 

 

PLUS from another post of mine today! :) 

                                HELP NEEDED ON THIS also!

 

 

I have several issues going on, a NEW ONE is the Honey Bee's in this old piece of bus in my back forty, behind my house! They had built there before then went away, and now they are back again making a "hive" and swarming a part of that old bus. 

I also WANT TO GIVE that bus to anyone who wants to take it, and sell what is there for scrap metal. Plus there are lots of downed trees, or some that would be easy to get down, and some of it is pecan wood, so it could be someone may want some of these dead trees and limbs... plus I Know I am going to probably have to PAY someone to bring a small tractor in and mow that back "forty"... with all of the rain, and such, I've tried to knock some of it down, but now with the bees on one side, and as tall as the weeds are getting, even me with the weed eater yesterday, 

and got some down, some I have already sprayed with weed killer, and still I feel the city will be by wanting me to get it mowed down... so there is a large enough gate on the back of that property where a flat bed trailer, or small tractor can get through with no problems... I have some trees in my back yard, one in particular that needs to be cut down, again, several are dead, and I have gotten a great deal of the things off of it I can but I cannot reach much of the tall stuff, 

plus I don't want to try and stand on a ladder to try and cut more off of them.. so I really want to get rid of the bees and the old bus, plus all of those old trees and limbs, and get that back lot mowed where I can keep it under control.... PLEASE anyone YOU MAY KNOW, OR WILL DO THIS FOR A REASONABLE PRICE I WOULD APPRECIATE IT... JUST Message me here and we can go over details thanks, Rhia
 

 

 

 

DOES IT EVER END????

Now as if things are not screwed up enough!!!! MOM TOOK ALL HE MEDICATION MORNING MEDICATIONS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THROUGH FRIDAY! all of them already! THEN ONLY TOOK "PARTS" OF THE BEDTIME MEDS... WHEN I asked her why she just looked at me and said well it is so simple I really do not know why I can't "get it"????? Then she DID NOT TELL ME that her legs and ankles were VERY SWOLLEN... now this is since Sunday - well she did NOT take her LASIX all week last week, because she did not take ANY meds last week... and SHE said Well they were "worse" they are better now... BULL, SHE is playing with "fire"... the entire reason for being SO CAREFUL about swelling is TOO much FLUID can cause that "heart valve" to act up and then she is facing open HEART SURGERY!!! So, I MADE HER TAKE ANOTHER LASIX and watched her and then increased it over the next 5 days to 2 every other day, which is what her heart doctor wanted her to do in the 1st place!!!!! 

Then "THEY ARE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!" I was in the back yard a few days ago, and in the back forty lot over some of the "weeds" I saw lots of what I thought were those damned "May Flies" which I hate swarming... BUT NO, THANK goodness I went back today and looked, because earlier I was out there with the weed eater trying to knock down some of the tall weeks before the city freaks and wants me to pay to have someone come and mow it with a tractor... 

BUT I stopped and decided I had enough room to spray weed killer as usual and should knock it down enough, it is all weeds and no grass... BUT, I LOOKED BACK AT THAT OLD BUS again a bit later AND IT'S THOSE DAMNED HONEY BEES!!!! WE "RAN" THEM OFF WE THOUGHT' They built in the neighbors walls... and he almost never got rid of them and NOW THEY BUILT OR ARE BUILDING BACK IN THE DAMNED OLD PIECE OF BUS ON MY BACK FORTY!!! I have been wanting to get someone to haul it and a bunch of old dead trees and tree limbs out, but finding the money is not easy... SO CRAP I have to do something... I just hope I can find someone who will come and "move that damned hive".... what a mess... 

Bub's is better, and I still never "found" what bit or stung him, and he is still not all the way over it, but all of it is looking much better, and I can tell he feels much better... what a damned nightmare... I do not honestly know what to do about Mom... and then I find out something about my car lease that I am really pissed about, but I will "save" that story until I do some research..... anyway, things suck even worse, and I am worn out.... and sick and tired of it all..... does it ever end!!!????

National Pain Report Offers New News - an Online Support Group

I have been following many of their articles over about the past 9 months and LIKE many of the articles, and things they share about pain, chronic pain, and all of the causes of severe never ending pain...

Since I am a pain patient, and also know what it is like to even not have a "great doctor" who listens and helps, and family that seem to not understand, the loss of relationships, friendships and the loneliness that all too often comes with these "silent and often invisible" illnesses...

So, I share with you they are opening up their own Online Support Group!


http://nationalpainreport.com/online-support-group-for-chronic-pain-launched-8829695.html

Still Just PEEVED over this mess about Pain Medications and the CDC! WE are ALL NOT ADDICTS OR ABUSERS!!

I am just so TOTALLY PEEVED at the CDC and ALL that they present when it comes to Pain Medications, especially "opioids" I want to SCREAM! YES, there are those who choose to abuse... but that abuse is FAR NOT what has been in the main stream of the news, and from the CDC! Right now, and I know many that suffer from all types of severe chronic pain daily... if WE including myself, had any OTHER CHOICE, and did NOT have to have these medications in order to have a better quality of life, you can BET WE WOULD CHOOSE SOMETHING ELSE! Many, MANY OF US, have lived through YEARS AND YEARS OF HELL! We have been through the many tests, all of the other medications, we do "exercise", we do try and go on with our lives, we DO ABIDE BY OUR DOCTORS RULES AND REGULATIONS, we DO everything we are supposed to do OR NOT SUPPOSED TO DO, in order to try and not have to take pain medications YET FOR SOME OF US, THEY ARE OUR SAVING GRACE! They are what allows us to get up in the mornings, and go on about our days the best we know how, whether that is work (and even with my medications I had to stop working in 2003, and spent until 2007 getting my disability! Durong that time I SURVIVED barely, with very little medication, BUT I was too ill to work, too ill to really do much of anything, I had lost hope, and was about at the end of my own rope, until I FINALLY FOUND MY pain specialist who tried to put my life back on a tract of being able to "live"... DO THEY TAKE AWAY ALL PAIN? NO! NOTHING, but the day we LEAVE THIS PLACE AND MOVE ONTO WHEREVER WE GO FROM HERE, will ALL OF OUR PAIN BE GONE! BUT, can we "take it", can we "live with it", can we do things with our families, some of us still work, do advocacy work, be useful in our society, in our neighborhoods, churches, with our loved ones, and try to enjoy life as much as possible... 

YES! I realize that without all of the other surgeries, PLUS more ahead, my pain would only get worse... so even though due to my heart problems, and other illnesses, I take a chance, I DO have surgery IF my doctors tell me they have a chance to "lessen" "new pain" that comes when you have degeneration of joints, of your spine, when things happen you have NO control over, that can cause further pain, you DO what you CAN to NOT have to take any more medications... after all any of us can only take so much medication, no matter what type it is... and any medication works only as well as your physical, emotional and mental state allows it to... 

BUT WITHOUT MY pain medications, I would NOT be able to take care of my aging Mom, who is 81 and now suffering from probably Alzheimer's or some type of Dementia. I could not do my laundry, take care of my house as much as I can, try and cook for myself, take care of bills, and do my very best to go on with my life as I do... I just posted that this WEEK HAS BEEN HELL! Pain due to weather change, time change, and just me having to do more that usual this week brought on more pain.... 

BUT, I still try and get up, move forward, some day more slowly than others, but try my best to take ALL OF MY MEDICATIONS AND LIVE LIFE! SO, WHEN I read and hear about the CDC, and all of those WHO HAVE NO CLUE WHAT LIFE IS LIKE... AND WHAT IT WOULD NOT BE LIKE, IF I WERE NOT ABLE TO have my medications, IT REALLY MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL! I can GUARANTEE YOU IF ONE OF THEM, OR ONE OF THEIR LOVED ONES, SUFFERED THE SEVERITY OF PAIN that some of us do, or WOULD WITHOUT OUR MEDICATIONS, they WOULD ALSO BE FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT TO TELL THEIR STORIES, AND make sure they OR THEIR LOVED ONES WERE ABLE TO GET THE PROPER TREATMENTS AND MEDICATIONS THAT THEY NEEDED IN ORDER TO NOT SUFFER DAILY! My hopes are that ALL OF US THAT UNDERSTAND THIS PASS THIS AROUND, WE TELL OUR STORIES, WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT AGAINST THIS MESS OF OUR STIGMA WE ARE ALL "ADDICTED"... WHICH IS BULL.. I never feel "high", I feel relief, relief enough that I can go on with my day.... and if you see me WITHOUT MY MEDICATIONS, you would see someone who was in so much pain, that walking across my little home would be horrible, AND WHEN I have my medications, I am able to try and move on with my life.....

http://nationalpainreport.com/cdc-opioid-guidelines-released-8829808.html 


I hope YOU TOO will stand up and tell your story! WE must stand together on this!

Wishing You The Luck of the Irish and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wishing You the Luck of the Irish! May you have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day, and don't drink to much of the "Green Beer"!